Al Sarrantonio (1952–2025)

"And then what happened."...the four words that every storyteller longs to hear. That child-like impulse is the essence of what Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio wanted to evoke with this collection. On that basis, they were largely successful. These diverse stories, written by an impressive array of writers, kept me turning the pages and, yes, wondering what would happen next.

In some cases, I didn't have to wonder long. The stories range in length from a mere three pages to an impressive 48. show more Despite his name appearing in 72-point font on the book's cover, Mr. Gaiman contributes only one story in addition to his introduction. So, die-hard Gaiman fans, don't be disappointed. Instead, revel in the embarrassment of riches that have been brought together. This story collection features contributors who are among the best in genre fiction (Gene Wolfe, Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Swanwick, Peter Straub), literary fiction (Stuart O'Nan, Joyce Carol Oates, Walter Mosley, Roddy Doyle), and popular fiction (Jeffrey Deaver, Jodi Picoult, Joe Hill, Chuck Palahniuk). Honestly, I barely brushed the surface of all the big-name contributors, so very many of whom are long-time favorites of mine.

I'll be honest, not every single story is a slam dunk, but not one was a stinker. The overall quality of contributions is high. Whether you're looking for quick palate cleansers between longer works, or you're looking forward to reading this collection cover to cover, I feel confident in asserting that there's something for everyone to be found within these pages. show less

I have a theory that the more well known an author is, the less he gets edited. Here is what a good editor would have said to him: "Neil, I know these stories are by your buddies and are an homage to your genre. But most of these stories are poorly written, boring, unoriginal and lack any true emotion. Some are even down right embarrassing. The best are mediocre. This book would never have gotten published without your name on the cover."

I forced myself to finish the book, hoping in the name show more of Gaiman to find at least one gem in the collection. I suffered through this, so you my dear friends, might be spared. Skip this book. show less

Stories: All-New Tales is very nearly the perfect short story collection. It's a very eclectic collection; there are fantasy stories, horror stories, science fiction stories, and general fiction. As Gaiman says in his introduction, the editors wanted to put together stories that are designed to make the reader ask. "...and then what happened?" Almost all of the stories do this and do it well.

Notice that I said almost. There are two exception to this. Chuck Palahniuk's "story," "Loser," quite show more frankly sucks. I would barely even qualify it as a story. It's about a frat boy on acid who goes on a game show that seems to be The Price Is Right as written by someone who's never actually seen the show. There is pretty much no action at all, and nothing of any interest whatsoever happens. Also, it's written in the second person present tense, which is really annoying.

The other exception is Michael Moorcock's "Stories," which is at least a story, just a boring one. This is rather surprising coming from the man behind the Eternal Champion series, since I know he can write a good story (I've never actually read anything by Palahniuk). This is a long rambling story about the life of an editor and his slightly nutso writer friend written as a sort of reminiscence. It's not really very interesting.

The rest of the stories range from great to pretty darn good. Gaiman's "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" is excellent, as you would expect from a writer of Gaiman's caliber.Walter Mosley's "Juvenal Nyx" has great potential as a series character. Joe Hill's "The Devil on the Staircase" is written in a format similar to concrete poetry, but is a very good tale. Al Sarrantonio's "Cult of the Nose" is a great weird story. Really all of the other stories are good. Most of them could very well have been the stand out story in any other anthology. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this being nominated for--and probably winning--several awards. show less

Worse than mediocre "Halloween" novel about the end of the world. The characters are so two dimensional and the dialog so wooden we never end up caring about anyone and consequently never invested in their outcome. The action however is totally berserk from the first page with monsters, murderous possessed persons, venomous insect swarms, and poltergeists making appearances at regular and frequent intervals. Somehow Sarrantonio manages the brilliant feat of making none of it the least bit show more creepy or even that gruesome. By the time it should become a page turner the whole attitude is lets get this over with. It can't even manage the feat of being so bad it is a humorous self-parody of the genre. show less